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McDermott's squad led from start to finish, and point guard Maurice Watson Jr.'s career-high 32 points paced the Bluejays to a 70-56 win.

Both teams struggled from the field, and each shot worse than 41 percent. Creighton held the Musketeers to 1-of-21 from beyond the arc (4.8 percent), a season low, and Xavier made just 13 of its 20 free throws.

Behind baskets from Watson, Zach Hanson and James Milliken, Greg McDermott's squad jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the first five minutes. The team took a 37-27 lead into halftime.

Xavier battled back, cutting the deficit to as little as five with 6:10 remaining, but couldn't get any closer.

"We yelled in the huddle, 'We're not going to have another Georgetown game tonight,'" Watson said.

Watson was 11-of-21 from the field, and led the team in rebounds (7), assists (5) and steals (2). As McDermott put it: "he's just really creative." Creighton was 7-for-29 from beyond the arc (24.1 percent).

"We had some issues in that three-game game stretch beginning with Georgetown. Turnovers that led to baskets. You can't do that. It's a turnover in the Super Bowl on the 5-yard line that leads to a touchdown -- those change the game. We've gotten better at that," McDermott said.

The win is Creighton's first over a top-five opponent since January 2014, and second win over a ranked opponent this season. Entering Tuesday, Creighton was 1-10 against the No. 5 overall team in the country.

Creighton next plays Saturday on the road against Marquette.

"We can't pat ourselves on the back for too long, because Marquette's fighting for their lives, too," McDermott said.